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Original poster

SUNNYDELIGHT and anyone else who might know about taking companies to small claims court........

11 replies

Squarer · 28/02/2006 16:34

Do you cover small claims court matters Sunnydelight? If so I would be very grateful for some advice (and from anyone else that might know of course!)

Right at the end of 2004 my old insurance company took money out of my account using the previous years direct debit info I had given them. They claimed they had sent me a letter telling me to do nothing if I wanted to continue insuring through them. I have proof that they never sent this letter (they stitched themselves up). They took random amounts of money out of my account on random dates, and even took money out of my account after they stated they had agreed to cancel the insurance policy

All of what I am claiming I can prove in writing from them. Does it sound like I have a case? If so, am I too late to take them to court (been a bit hectic round here since my son was born in the middle of all this so I have not really had time to address it until now).

It's now the last thing left on my "to do" board. I don't really want to lose £50 in applying for small claims procedings - they stole around £90 and have since offered me £27 back after I caught them out with proof that they never sent a renewal letter to me.

Any ideas?

OP posts:

gigglinggoblin · 28/02/2006 16:52

have you contacted your bank? sounds like it goes against the direct debit guarantee so they might be able to help. sorry, no help other than that

Original poster

Squarer · 28/02/2006 17:34

Yes, tried that one gigglinggoblin - can't remember exactly what it was that they said (baby-fried brain) but they can't do anything.

OP posts:

Radley · 28/02/2006 17:41

i don't know if this helps, but, a few years ago, we got a few white goods on hp, when we had finished paying, we were checking back on something and discovered that the company had been taking double payments, in the end the bank did get all our money back about £927 in all.

Maybe its worth speaking to the bank manager.

sunnydelight · 02/03/2006 19:39

Just found this squarer and I'm dashing out. Will have a think about it and get back to you tomorrow

HellyBelly · 05/03/2006 10:58

Here is a \link{https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/csmco2/index.jsp\website} for claiming online.

I'm having to do this soon for non payment of a website I built!

Not sure how it works yet as I've only just come across this but I thought I'd post the link anyway!

Good luck :)

Freckle · 05/03/2006 11:11

The small claims court is really quite simple. You go to your county court office and ask for the paperwork. They should give you an instructional leaflet which sets out exactly what you have to do.

Be aware though that, if the insurers submit a defence, the matter is automatically transferred to their local court. If this happens, you can write to the court explaining why you feel it should be heard locally and it may be transferred back again.

You should be able to claim back your issue fee, plus any out of pocket expenses (include telephone calls, postage if you've written letters, etc., but you should have some proof of these), plus interest on the amount you are claiming.

Good luck.

Original poster

Squarer · 07/03/2006 11:59

Thanks for all the responses so far. I do have all the paperwork for claiming - as you say, it is simple, but I am not sure whether I am out of time or not - I'd lose the case straight away if I was. Does anyone know what the deadlines are for this as the court literature just says "ask your solicitor".

OP posts:

HellyBelly · 07/03/2006 13:44

Good question, I'll be watching this thread then as I need to know this!

sunnydelight · 09/03/2006 17:59

Hi Squarer. I'm so sorry, I haven't been around much and never long enough to type a response to you. You are not out of time, don't worry about that, but I'm not totally convinced the small claims procedure is the way to go at this stage. The direct debit guarantee seems like the appropriate thing to pursue - it is designed for just these type of situations. I know you said you tried it before and they said they couldn't help, but if you go to court you will have to say exactly what you have done to try and sort this out without resorting to court action, and I'm afraid baby-fried brain just isn't a legal excuse You also say that you can prove that they never sent you a letter - how exactly can you do this? (I'm not giving you grief personally, just from a legal point of view. If they say they sent a letter and you just say you didn't receive it at the end of the day it is one person's word against another. In the small claims procedure the person perceived to be in a stronger position - in this case the insurance company - has to work harder to prove their case than the "weaker" party, but this principal can be interpreted differently depending on who hears the case). At this stage I would contact your bank again, in writing, and explain that you have approached them before but you are unsure of the exact reason why they cannot help you. Ask them to explain, in writing, the reasons why the guarantee doesn't cover your case. Tell them that if they cannot help you you will be taking the insurance company to court, so you would appreciate their response as soon as possible. When you get a response get back to me and I will try and advise further.

sunnydelight · 09/03/2006 18:17

Or even principle of course Sorry, just remembered one more thing I wanted to tell you on my way to collect DS2. We have twice instigated small claims proceedings, both times against large companies, and each time they settled the day before the case was due to be heard. Very often it is cheaper for a company to settle a claim rather than defend it, and of course there is the publicity angle. This is obviously never a sure thing, so you cannot rely on it.

Original poster

Squarer · 09/03/2006 21:49

Wow - thanks SunnyD... you have given me a fair bit to go on there. Will certainly write to my bank in the first instance then. Baby fried brain means I can't remember what they said at the time, but I will go back to them for a further attack (in order to get ammo to write the letter!). I had actually cancelled the direct debit prior to any "legitimate" money coming out but they went back using a "different number". That's all I remember from our conversations.

The non-sending proof I am going on rests on the fact that I never received the letter in my forwarded mail and I told them this time and again - eventully they sent me a "copy" of the letter - with my new address on - the one that they would have had no clue about when they allegedly sent the original letter, so appears to be one that they quickly hashed up and used the wrong address. As soon as I confronted them with this they offered me some money back. Along with other stuff (taking money out after confirming cancellation) and the underhand DD number change to get the money out I am hoping I stand a chance.

Don't apologise for not being around - just grateful for your advice! I'll certainly stalk you when I get a response

If you ever need any help in respect of roads in your area (anything to do with them) or getting any sense out of your council about them, just give me a nudge

OP posts:

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